The proof of a guidebook is its use. I took this (along with a number of others) on our trip to the South last year. The others stayed in the rental car's trunk and we used this one almost exclusively. Not as in depth as some, but the directions were simple to follow and we appreciated the background information. One caveat -- call first if you absolutely have to eat at one of the recommended restaurants. We found the Kennesaw House in Marietta out of business. (Certainly not the fault of the publisher!) We also enjoyed armchair tours of the sites we didn't make it to.

I have been to many Civil War battlefields on the east coast of the U.S. and this book is highly valuable to me in my touring and researching Civil War Battlefields. The book is coauthored by two scholarly experts on the Civil War, Jay Wertz and Edwin C. Bearss who give excellent summaries to each battle that was fought during the Civil War, but what makes this book especially valuable is the current hotels, bookstores, restaurants and other points of interest near or on the battlefields that are listed. Another worthy thing that the guide has is it's listing of what each battlefiled park has for the visitor such as restrooms, picnic facilities, paths, guided tours, and museums, which are invaluable to the experience. This is a MUST have to anyone who is interested on seeing the great battlefields of Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Shiloh, New Market, etc, firsthand.

I have been to several parks and this guide pointed out some new things to see. The book features good background on the battles and features excellent directions and maps. The book also has good information on the parks and surrounding areas pertaining to if their is a fee to get into the park, nearby hotels/attractions, etc. Good guide and good background info.

This is the best book I've found for those of us who have only a vague concept of what feng shui is, and how it is practiced. It covers the historical background and application to modern living perfectly - clear and concise. The analogies the writer uses are very helpful for us narrow-minded Westerners.

I read this book and I want to ask the autors a question about the Pah Kwa. I didn't find their email address, so I'll post it here. They said that the fame enrichment is always positioned over the font door. I got other information from other authors, and different Pah Kwa plans. I don't know which is right. I study architecture and I'm very intrested in Feng shui. I'll make a diploma degree out of Feng shui and I must make it right. Maybe I can get an email address of them here. Please contact me.

This is the first book I've read front to back on feng shui. I knew a bit about the subject before I read this book, but was uncertain how to apply it to my life. This book held my interest and is clear and informative without being dry. It takes you step by step through the process (with many easy to follow diagrams) on how to analyze your living and working space--and even your garden. I was fascinated by feng shui before I read this book; now I'm hooked. Even if you don't completely believe it, by applying even some of the principles, i.e., wind chimes, plants, less clutter(!), more (or less) color in your home or office, you can create a more harmonius and peaceful environment away from the frantic pace of life. And, do it without a spending a lot of money. Great book!

The book is well written, easy to follow,will be liked by the experts and novices alike.The author uses low-fat alternatives to cream and whole milk,in addition a large variety of veggies and spices. I have picky eaters at home, and now I get them to eat lots of healthy food and love it as well. The parts I found difficult were some ethnic recipes. Not all grocery stores carry those ingredients, and the one we have locally is regarded as well-stocked. Nevertheless, I think this is an excellent addition to my recipe collection.

I was compelled to write this review (my first on Amazon) because I wanted to let others know how fundamental this cookbook has become for my kitchen. I bought this book off the shelf at a Borders (sorry Amazon!) when a friend of mine spotted it there-- just what I was looking for and the instructions seemed to be written in a straightforward manner. My first attempt was the GardenFest Gazpacho, which I made one 4th of July weekend. It got great reviews 'round the table. I later tried the Roasted Sweet Corn and Sweet Potator Chowder, to which I can just say "wow." And those were just the summer soups. As I type this, the Moroccan Lentil and Kale Stew is simmering on the stove... Although the author recommends fresh ingredients, I have substituted canned and frozen plenty of times with fine results. Although I haven't tried them, the author does also include breads and other treats to accompany the dishes. I heartily recommend this cookbook to those who can already picture a hot bowl of stew, a mug of cider and a blissful evening to enjoy both.

Jay Solomon offer up some of the most interseting stories for many excellent recipies. He should consider a sequal.

Not being familar withe book, Scorcese and Cocks came up with a excellent film of class hypocrisy and repression. Well worth reading on its own right, hopefully this film will get the acclaim it deserves. Those that did like this film should also examine Kubrick's 'Barry Lyndon', a film which was one of Scorsese's main influence during the making of the film.

This book really can be called a "work of art". It includes some stunning pictures and paintings that later inspired the making of the film "The Age of Innocence". It's really an uncommon chance to glimpse into our own pictorial heritage, as seen through the eyes of one of America's most important filmmakers. Included is also the shooting script and a series of quotations from the period's writers that help in the building of the 19th century athmosphere. Strongly reccommended to the lovers of this film and to the ones who want to appreciate more and understand where the "inspiration" comes from. Massimo Benvegnu

The book is great for inspiring your toddler to participate in reading. While the book is not heavy in plot, the child is asked to find objects that are in the nursery rhyme and pictured on the page. My toddler is 2 and was overjoyed to be able to accomplish what the book asked. It is challenging because the pictures are quite lively. It teaches a child to concentrate on the task at hand and not to be distracted by other activity. The classic "concentrate,work hard, and you will succeed" book. A great buy!

As well as being mother to an active 2 year old, I teach ESL to 30 children from 1 to 3 years old. Anyone who knows toddlers, also knows how hard it can be to get them to sit and look at a book, especially in a group setting when they don't understand much English. This is the first book I have found which draws the children in and holds their attention right to the end!

I find this western to be excellent. Very descriptive and enjoyable. It has been several years since I last read this book. I believe it to be one of Brands best works. I would like to add it to my library.

Author, Max Brand, uses the main character, Kitchin, to "tell Kitchin's life's story" -- and what a story he unwinds. Well developed characterization. Interesting and surprising twist to Kitchin's story. The novel is more about human nature, than a true western. Recommended read for any gender and age.

This book is a cut above most of the stuff on the market. It is very practical.

While short on pictures, it is long on drawings and diagrams that explain many bowling concepts in ways that are easy to understand.

This book is useful to the advanced bowler as well as the beginner. The lane condition chart at the back and the advice on playing different lane conditions is interesting and valuable.

Borden is somewhat dogmatic in telling one how to bowl, but his way does work and work well. He spent hours taping professionals and distilling their games down to the fundamental things you have to do to succeed. His other book, Secrets of the Big Money Pro's is even better. I give that one 5 stars.

Most bowlers know that this book is a "must-have." Fred Borden is a world-renowned bowling coach and this book provides the fundamentals and concepts important for the serious beginning and advanced bowler to develop his/her game. I am a 200+ average bowler and I often pull this book off the shelf for reference (especially when I'm in a slump!).

Celebrating the 100th Birthday of the National Wildlife Refuges, this book is a revealing and oft inspiring account of the history of the refuges and the closely allied conservation movement. Accompanying the text are stunning photographs of the wildlife and lands they have preserved.

The story begins with a heartbreaking description of the wanton destruction of wildlife from the time the colonists arrived through the 19th Century. Some species were driven to extinction and many more were threatened by that fate. In the latter half of the 19th century, individuals and groups struggled to stem this desecration of our heritage to little avail.

Many argued that only Federal government action could protect wildlife from the excesses of a market driven economy. While there were some steps in that direction during the late 1800's, the seminal event came in 1903 when Teddy Roosevelt established Pelican Island in Florida as the first National Wildlife Refuge.

In the century since, the refuge system has steadily grown to its current count of 538 refuges in all 50 states. Throughout this history, there have been continual battles with those who sought to use the refuges for activities detrimental to wildlife. Finally, in 1997 the dominant purpose of the refuges to protect wildlife was made the law of the land.

Unfortunately, there is one crucial exception. A political compromise at the time of its creation left the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- also known as the "American Serengeti" -- vulnerable to devastating oil development. The author chronicles the origin of that controversy and its evolution to the present time. Given his strong advocacy for wildlife and the refuges in this book, his treatment of the protagonists in the ANWR controversy is remarkably even handed. By contrast, the writers in Subhankar Banerjee's "Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land" are unabashedly on the side of preserving the Coastal Plain. I think they got it right.

The final section of the book contains profiles of eight of the refuges selected for their beauty and diversity.

In his introduction, Eric Dolin writes -- "The refuge system is a priceless gift. It reflects the great diversity of the tapestry of life and commitment of the United States to wildlife conservation." His book demonstrates the truth of these assertions and provides many reasons to hope that our nation's commitment will only grow stronger.

Reasons for Hope

Celebrating the 100th Birthday of the National Wildlife Refuges, this book is a revealing and oft inspiring account of the history of the refuges and the closely allied conservation movement. Accompanying the text are stunning photographs of the wildlife and lands they have preserved.

The story begins with a heartbreaking description of the wanton destruction of wildlife from the time the colonists arrived through the 19th Century. Some species were driven to extinction and many more were threatened by that fate. In the latter half of the 19th century, individuals and groups struggled to stem this desecration of our heritage to little avail.

Many argued that only Federal government action could protect wildlife from the excesses of a market driven economy. While there were some steps in that direction during the late 1800's, the seminal event came in 1903 when Teddy Roosevelt established Pelican Island in Florida as the first National Wildlife Refuge.

In the century since, the refuge system has steadily grown to its current count of 538 refuges in all 50 states. Throughout this history, there have been continual battles with those who sought to use the refuges for activities detrimental to wildlife. Finally, in 1977 the dominant purpose of the refuges to protect wildlife was made the law of the land.

Unfortunately, there is one crucial exception. A political compromise at the time of its creation left the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- also known as the "American Serengeti" -- vulnerable to devastating oil development. The author chronicles the origin of that controversy and its evolution to the present time.

The final section of the book contains profiles of eight of the refuges selected for their beauty and diversity.

In his introduction, Eric Dolin writes -- "The refuge system is a priceless gift. It reflects the great diversity of the tapestry of life and commitment of the United States to wildlife conservation." His book demonstrates the truth of these assertions and provides many reasons to hope that our nation's commitment will only grow stronger.

Accessibly written and superbly organized by Eric Jay Dolin, Smithsonian Book Of National Wildlife Refuges is a most engaging history of the system of 538 wildlife refuges that exist among all fifty of the United States. The intricate text discusses the travails, conservation efforts, ecology and more of America's wildlife refuges while gorgeous full-color natural photographs by John and Karen Hollingsworth of wilderness and wildlife add a special, vivid touch. A highly recommended giftbook for nature lovers, the Smithsonian Book Of National Wildlife Refuges would make an excellent Memorial Fund acquisition for either academic or community library collections.

As I sat at a traffic light and observed another motorist talking on a cell phone, I recalled Albert Jay Nock's observations in "Snoring as a Fine Art." Like the English novelists Kingsley Amis and Evelyn Waugh, Nock thought that most of the world's problems were caused by people who were too busy, and that the world be a better place if there were less meddling, less anxious do-gooding, and more sleeping, preferably a European siesta after lunch.

John Henry Newman foresaw the modern mentality which knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. Our untraditional "busy-ness" robs us of the introspection and philosophic habit of mind which Newman thought was the purpose of education. Now the cell phones keep us from even one minute of reflection. For once I agreed with Emerson: "Things are in the saddle, and ride mankind."

Nock lived in the progressive era of the early 20th century, the era of Wilson and FDR, whose Leftist militarism, interventionism, and Puritanism were enough to make any man bitter. In these essays he provided what his collectivist age needed -- a healthy dose of skepticism and individualism. Although I agree with Henry Regnery that Nock advanced the conservatism of his time, many of his ideas now look less like conservatism and more like prescriptions for loneliness and isolation. Nowhere did I see a defense of the social group, which has always been the root of conservatism.

His welcome comments in favor of civilization and the humane life contradict his comments in favor of liberty and equality without limitation. What Nock calls radicalism and anarchism do not lead to the humane life or to civilization. Although he quotes Burke, he overlooks Burke's emphasis on ordered liberty. Nock's view that the state is the enemy is a libertarian, rather than a conservative, opinion. Where Nock spends a great deal of time upset at the world, conservatives tend to accept things as they are, with an eye to the smaller satisfactions of limited freedom in a fallible world, a world which often thwarts human desire and ambition. Nock seems to have overlooked the self-evident truth that mankind does not naturally lean toward the angelic, a failing which, according to Alexander Hamilton, makes government necessary in the first place.

There is more than a little Marxism in Nock's attempt to separate Americans into clear categories of upper, middle, and low, and to define them in reference to the idea of exploitation. His desire for equality, moreover, contradicts his desire for a Remnant. On the one hand, he ascribes to the critic the holy vocation of encouraging the Remnant; on the other, he describes himself as superfluous.

Thus there is a mercurial quality to Nock's essays, a curious combination of exaggeration, despair, and an optimism which seems forced and ideal rather than grounded in everyday life. It may be that Nock attained some peace late in life, that he was able to accept men as they are. But that acceptance is the exception rather than the norm in his writing, and usually gives way to an unsatisfying ambivalence.

Albert Jay Nock was perhaps one of the only three truly enduring bellettrists 20th century American letters yielded up. He deployed a truly lyric and insinuating prose style of uncommon grace and oddly puckish wit, and it served to unfurl one of the rarest of American minds - a shamelessly recalcitrant individualist whose intellectual evolution never obstructed or abrogated the core of the man: that the individual deserved his long-stolen propers; that the lowest common denominator should be tolerated but not consecrated or canonised; and, above all, that the State was an organism worthy of that which its crimes ever deserves: the fear and loathing of any and every man and woman who cares a whack about his or her fellows. To read him is a singular joy. And you will find no more sensible or beautifully-balanced introduction to the man and his singularity of writing than in this volume which Mr. Hamilton has composed with uncommon brilliance.

This is a wonderful collection of some of Nock's finest essays. It offers a great insight into one of the most brilliant (and overlooked) minds of the 20th century. He is a very gifted writer and a truly dedicated lover of liberty. If you enjoyed "Our Enemy The State" you will surely cherish this book.